Electronic devices are in many cases provided with one or more displays for providing visual information to users of the devices. The electronic devices can be provided with user interfaces for display on the display of the device for facilitating user interaction with, and operation of, the device via one or more user inputs. The user interfaces comprise visual elements that can be arranged in various manners on the screen and can represent, for example, executable software programs, menu items indicating selectable functionality or operations available to the user within programs, a state of some aspect of program or data or other function of the device, etc. User inputs such as trackpads, trackballs, mice, cursors, touch screens and multitouch screens, can provide pointer-type controls usable to adjust the position of a pointer in multiple dimensions to allow interaction with the user interface by, for example, enabling navigation through menu systems, options, file systems, program shortcuts etc, and enabling selection and manipulation of visual elements and the items they represent. Many such electronic devices have user interfaces that provide one or more homescreens that are presented to a user as a starting point for operating the device, or when the device is powered on and ‘awake’ but idle, waiting to be used, from which a user can typically easily access and operate the device in accordance with its potential available end-user functionality.
Functionality enabling the customisation of user interfaces by the end user is often provided as a desirable mechanism to personalise electronic devices. Such personalisation of the user interface facilitates user interaction with the device and can give an improved end-user experience. One such customisation option that is commonly offered in graphical user interfaces is the ability to select an image for use as a background wallpaper of the user interface, for example, for display as a background of a homescreen of the device. Of course, wallpaper images may be used in views of the user interface other than the homescreen and such wallpapers could permeate through a significant proportion of the views of the user interface. Wallpaper images may be selectable from a library of purpose-designed wallpaper images, user-created images (using, for example, a built-in image capture device), downloaded/received images, etc. Such background wallpaper is typically displayed at least as a background of a homescreen of a device. One or more background wallpaper images may of course be selectable for use in different contexts on the device. For example, on a portable electronic device homescreen, a wallpaper image may vary dependent on some detected condition such as a selected menu option, a date, a weather condition, etc.
Electronic devices can be provided with means usable to indicate an orientation of the device to the device itself, such as one or more accelerometers. These provides a technical means of a user input and can be used to control the device, or to facilitate a user's interaction with the device by controlling aspects of the user interface, such as the presentation of the user interface on the display. For example, the user interface of a device can be altered to facilitate interaction with the device as the device is rotated by the user in use and changes in the orientation of the device are indicated. For example, the user interface may change its configuration so that it appears aligned and ‘upright’ as the device is rotated, for example turned on its side. This change in configuration of the user interface may happen in 90 degree stages, for example, switching between ‘portrait’ and ‘landscape’ configurations as the device is rotated a quarter turn while pointing generally upwards. The background wallpaper may be rotated with the user interface as the device is rotated in use.